ASK any Irish person who they believe Ireland's greatest living painter to be and the chances are they will suggest Louis le Brocquy. The scale of his reputation and the staggering prices his works fetch at auction are unparalleled in an Irish context. In May, he will receive the freedom of Dublin - one of the state's highest accolades. To celebrate his 90th birthday last November, there have been a whopping 11 exhibitions of his work both here and abroad in the past year. The culmination of this year-long series of events - Le Brocquy and His Masters: Early Heroes, Later Homage - opened this week at Dublin City Gallery the Hugh Lane. Le Brocquy, it seems, can do no wrong.

But what is it about le Brocquy that he manages to receive such uncritical adulation here in Ireland? Certainly, he was not without his critics in the past, as a young, daring artist finding his path in a conservative Dublin art scene. But now, 70 years later, a new conservatism has crept in - one which involves an unquestioning acceptance of his position as Ireland's "greatest" living artist.

Playwright and critic Brian McAvera, in a recent article in The Visual Artists' News Sheet Review Supplement, attempted to reignite the debate about le Brocquy's work when he wrote:

"Although the art market would have us believe otherwise, the status of le Brocquy is markedly problematic? We need to look closely at the artist's entire career and to re-evaluate it from a position which takes nothing for granted."

He calls for le Brocquy's work to be assessed within a wider European tradition, rather than allowing it to be limited "within a cosy, uncritical Irish context".

Indeed, le Brocquy already seems to have been pigeon-holed thus: in a recent review of his latest work in the London Independent, Sue Hubbard described him as "a dominant force in the evolution of 20thcentury Irish art, which? was something of a backwater" and concludes, "There has always been a parochialism to his work."

Whether you believe such opinions to be an unjust assessment of his achievements, it is worth asking if we do indeed take le Brocquy's position for granted.

Despite his age, le Brocquy is still working, and his latest paintings are a new departure. If anything, this new body of work will divide opinion, and will force us to reassess his work - within an Irish and European context.

The Hugh Lane exhibition, Early Heroes, Later Homage, is curated by his son, Pierre le Brocquy. It is divided into two periods that bookend his career - his very earliest and most recent works. These two sections are shown in different parts of the gallery: his early works are in the old section, on display alongside works by painters who influenced him, while his latest works are several rooms away in the new extension. This curious division marks the lacuna at the centre of the show - namely 60 years in between - but it also underscores his lasting absorption of the influence of Goya, Velasquez, Manet and Cezanne. Thus, it positions his work within a distinctly European tradition of figurative painting.

The exhibition is also a homecoming of sorts - a return to the gallery where he was inspired to become a painter. "It's rather moving to curate an exhibition like this for Louis, celebrating his 90th, because it's the place where everything started, " says Pierre. "He decided to become a painter in 1938 and the masters on the wall in the Hugh Lane and the National Gallery inspired him."

Early Heroes (1939-1945) demonstrates how, as a young, self-taught painter, he absorbed the influences of western European artists, as well as the compositional techniques of 18thcentury Japanese prints. While their role in his development is unmistakable, he never stooped to the level of copyist. 'The Picnic', when shown alongside Degas's 'Beach Scene', is a revelation. Likewise, 'Southern Window', with its green shutters, oblique viewpoint and strong colour contrasts, directly references Manet, whose 'Music in the Tuileries Gardens' is included in the exhibition. 'Girl in White' reveals Manet's influence as well, while also showing a debt to Whistler (it is a pity, therefore, that no work by Whistler is featured in the exhibition). Often overlooked paintings such as 'Belfast Refugees' and the 'Goyainspired Girl in Grey' likewise demonstrate a remarkably assured, talented young artist.

Fast-forward 60 years to Later Homage (2005-2006), a series of paintings in which he acknowledges his debt to those early masters. This is the first time these works have been shown in Ireland, having been exhibited in London late last year. The "homage" is achieved by painting his own versions of famous works of art: 'Looking at Goya' is a reconfiguration of Goya's portrait of Dona Antonia Zarate, while for 'Looking at Velasquez' he has painted the dwarf Don Sebastian de Mora, as well as a landscape of the Villa Medici in Rome. The phrase "looking at" is carefully chosen, underscoring his study of these painters but also reminding the viewer that this is his own particular vision - his way of seeing. The works are filtered through his style, merging out of shimmering layers of paint, as if through a distinctive le Brocquy gauze.

While the idea of paying homage is admirable, the principal problem with his 'versions' is that they (quite literally) pale in comparison with the originals. The intense beauty of Dona Antonia Zarate's gaze becomes blurry and masculine in le Brocquy's work, while the powerful character-study of Velasquez's Don Sebastian de Mora in le Brocquy's version is somewhat soulless.

The centrepiece of Later Homage is four large-scale variations of Manet's 'Olympia', which was itself a revolutionary addition to the long tradition of reclining nudes. But rather than the worldly scene Manet portrayed, le Brocquy depicts a more universal female - a paean to youth and beauty, with her overtly sensual, undulating form bleeding into the translucent, richly coloured background.

While le Brocquy seems to have been genuinely motivated by the deepest respect and admiration for his "masters", these paintings are ultimately disappointing and limited in scope. It may seem daring to take on the masters in this way but, in reality, the works are simply not daring enough.

It is remarkable, however, that, at the age of 90, le Brocquy is still investigating new artistic avenues. Indeed, it is almost hard to believe that the painter of 'Girl in Grey' also painted 'Looking at Goya'. In between these works, le Brocquy has gone through many distinctive styles, including his "Tinker" paintings, grey period, presences series and portrait heads, all of which have been underpinned by his study of human consciousness and the individual in isolation. The question is: whatever next?

"Where it will go from now I do not know, but certainly Louis always catches us by surprise, " says Pierre. "I think that's one of the strengths of his work - that he has always, if I dare say so, been ahead of his collectors' expectations and indeed the public's expectations. So who knows?"

With that in mind, I will leave le Brocquy with the last word, when he recalled some advice given to him by Jack B Yeats:

"Pay no attention to adverse criticism, " he was told. "The true artist has vision. The critic has only an opinion."

'Louis le Brocquy and His Masters:

Early Heroes, Later Homage' runs at the Hugh Lane until 30 March.